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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27546706">Dirt Maw</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarquessHilda/pseuds/MarquessHilda'>MarquessHilda</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hollow Knight (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cornifer is a total airhead, Depression, Elderbug is tired, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Iselda loves him anyways, Lunch, Married Couple, Melancholy, Suicidal Thoughts, optimistic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:35:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,244</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27546706</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarquessHilda/pseuds/MarquessHilda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Written from the point of view of Elderbug as the events of the game take place. He is invited for lunch with Cornifer and Iselda and reminisces on the events that led to him being the last bug still remaining in Dirtmouth. Exploring his growing resentment for the well who claimed the lives of so many of his friends.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cornifer/Iselda (Hollow Knight), Elderbug &amp; Cornifer &amp; Iselda, Elderbug &amp; Sly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dirt Maw</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>After many days of work, I finally finished my very first fanfic! I was heavily inspired by my friend Littletall’s "<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21805333/chapters/52032784">Off Balance</a>" fanfiction and also just felt like this game beckoned me to write something on it. Overall I am very proud to finally have finished this!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He sat down on the usual bench, located not far from the old stag station, his knees pained a bit from bending over to sit down. But it was still better than standing up all day, long gone were the times when he was even capable of doing that. “A small pain must be withstood to avoid bigger pain.” He thought. Being alone for so long left plenty of time to philosophize.</p><p>Slowly, he looked around, first at the roads that stretched through the narrow valley Dirtmouth saw itself in-between, not many travelers had come this way in a while, the most recent was a young couple looking for a house to live in. Even though he told them that, aside from his’, all the houses were empty, they insisted on one house that was just way too small for them... So be it, long gone were the times where he’d have the will to argue over things like that, either. Really, it was just nice to have someone to talk to, even though the husband took no time immediately jumping on that cursed well while his wife stayed behind.</p><p>They had moved in on the hopes of selling maps to travelers, with Iselda managing the shop and Cornifer charting the maps. Hardly seemed worth the risk, honestly, and Elderbug made sure to warn them, but it was no use. It was hard to share their optimism that he’d come back considering how many other travelers he had seen go the same way never to return.</p><p>He still wondered why he had introduced himself to them as Elderbug, that’s how he’s been called by the townsfolk for as long as he remembered, and the name stuck so much it became how he referred to himself, not that any of the old inhabitants remained anymore, anyways. Young Bretta was the last and it’s been days since he last saw her.</p><p>Really, it seems the town was losing more residents than gaining, what with Sly being gone for so long on another of his scavenging journeys and Bretta having run away. Perhaps the madness that lied beneath finally had crept up to the surface? The air sure seemed stiller and it was hard to make out whether the dense fog was truly fog or if it was all the dust suspended in mid-air, refusing to ever fall while the air grew heavier and heavier. Elderbug often found himself misremembering stuff and forgetting dates, but that could just as well be the crushing monotony of being alone for so long.</p><p>Looking up it was clear it was probably a mix of fog and soot, the sun was but a blurry spot behind the thick layer of clouds, its yellow tinge just barely making itself noticeable from behind the overpowering shimmer of the crystal peak, projected against it was the ruin of a crumbling yet imposing figure, wings stretched wide and three sharp crown-like horns poking from its head, no doubt that figure once held great importance for those who sculpted it, perhaps that was the fabled king who ruled over Hallownest?</p><p>Miners on the way there always marveled at the beauty of the peak, but truthfully he always found that purple gleam to be dreadful, thinking about what kinds of evil could be creeping over there always sent a shiver down his spine. Nonetheless, when the wind blew quieter he could still faintly hear the stampede of the glimbacks and the clanking of pickaxes, so perhaps the bugs that went there weren’t in danger after all?</p><p>Who was he kidding, they were probably driven mad like all others.</p><p>Speaking of wind, opposite to the crystal peak was the Howling Cliffs, it was certainly less of an eyesore, but, true to its name, the haunting echos of the wind when it hit the side of the cliffs didn’t make it any more pleasant to live with. Really, If not for the endless treasures supposedly hidden in the ruins of Hallownest, escaping Dirtmouth’s dreadful atmosphere was probably enough excuse for some to venture down. In the particularly gloomy days, the thought sure crossed Elderbug’s mind, and it only seemed to become more frequent lately. Perhaps one day he’d descend there, if only to satisfy a bit of his curiosity over what drew in so many travelers before meeting his swift end at the hands of the infection.</p><p>He wouldn’t act on those thoughts, of course, but it was getting harder and harder to fight them.</p><p>Before he could decide by himself to abandon this train of thought, Elderbug heard a rumble coming from the howling peaks, more specifically from the old gate that blocked off King’s Pass, then another rumble came, and another, sounding like something was attempting to break it from the inside, perhaps some creature? He surely hasn’t seen anyone come in from there before. He briefly considered if he should run back to his house, but decided to stay.</p><p>His questions were quickly quelled when, with a final blow, the gates came toppling down the cliff where an old bridge once stood, as the dust settled he could just barely make out a ghostly face standing at the broken frame of the gates, almost as if floating, so dark their body seemed to be in contrast with their head. The floating head then seemed to float downwards as if priming for a jump until finally leaping forwards and crashing straight on the jagged ruins below, a column of dust shooting off from their “landing”.</p><p>Eyes widened, Elderbug shot up, completely ignoring his knee pain and giving a few uneasy steps towards it, leaning up his neck to try and get a peek over the ruins, expecting the worst. “Did they-?” He mumbled to himself, unable to finish his thought, a few seconds later the “floating” head rose up from behind the rocks, looking completely unfazed by the fall, nonchalantly dusting off their robes, searching for then picking up their nail, and walking towards the town. All while Elderbug watched utterly dumbfounded.</p><p>Against the light of the lampposts he could finally make out the creature’s body, however, it was more akin to a silhouette, which confused his depth perception and he instead focused on the bug’s bone-white head, which, aside from scraping and dust from the fall, still held that expressionless face. Still paralyzed from shock, he watched as it kept marching forwards, at some point gazing directly at him, their pitch-black eyes immediately snapping him off his trance.</p><p>“H-ho there, traveler-” He nervously started “Quite a fall you had there, are you alright?”</p><p>The bug merely stared on, it made Elderbug feel way out of his element. “Um… What is your name?” </p><p>Nothing. Did they perhaps knock their head? No, something was different about this tiny bug, peering into their black emotionless eyes made a familiar chill run up his spine, still, he was a traveler like all others – perhaps a bit of a light-weight – and strangely, they stood there, as if waiting for him to say something.</p><p>“Ahem, I’m afraid there is only me left here to welcome you, our town has fallen quiet, you see… The other residents all disappeared, headed down that well to explore the caverns below” The bug’s attention seemed gripped on him, their face devoid of expression and yet their shadowy round eyes seeming so curious, eager even, it was nice to have someone to talk with, though they didn’t seem to be able (or want to) talk back. Nonetheless, he continued: “There used to be a great kingdom beneath our town, though it has long fallen into ruin, and yet it still draws many adventurer types to its depths.” </p><p>He paused a bit, gazing longingly towards the well, the same well many adventurers had entered, the very same well from which the lifeless shell of his best friend had been pulled by the corpse collector before the collector himself re-entered the well never to come back.</p><p>“That darkness seems to promise everything” He scoffed, narrowing his eyes in frustration at all those memories. “I’m sure that you too seek your dreams down there” </p><p><em> No other reason someone would want to visit this place </em>, he thought, making sure to have not said it aloud. “Be warned, however, it’s a sickly air that fills that place, creatures turn mad and violent and travellers who spend too long in its depths forget who they are and why are they even there”</p><p>Elderbug couldn’t help but let escape a mournful sigh, he gave that same warning to everyone that came in, sometimes he wondered if his persuasion skills were that low that not a single traveler changed their mind at his words. It made him feel contempt for the well, that same well who featured in his nightmares as a worm-like beast whose ever-gaping maw would lure then devour all who passed by, but always seemed to spare him, who could only watch on in helpless horror. O how the temptation of greed made travelers forsake their well being and ignore all warning signs.</p><p>At the same time, he felt a bit ashamed of the reason he kept giving said warning: Perhaps if someone heeded it, they’d decide to stay and keep him company. It was a far-fetched idea, and yet he still held on to his optimism, his <em> dream </em>, that was the one thing time couldn’t take away from him – for as much as he tried, he couldn’t help but hope for a better future.</p><p>He quickly snapped back to himself, the strange bug still there. Elderbug wasn’t a tall bug by any means, and yet he still towered over them, although they seemed to be equipped with a real nail (One in awful shape, nonetheless) this bug didn’t seem to be but a child, although from them exhaled an aura of experience that made him doubt his thinking. <em> What a strange fellow </em>, he thought to himself, right as his legs started to ache from standing up too long and he began to feel awkward by the extended silence between the two of them.</p><p>“Are you feeling tired? I can’t fathom how you managed to shrug off that fall unharmed” He said while lumbering over to the bench and lunging his body backward with a groan that then turned into a sigh as he sat on to it, mostly avoiding the terrible knee pain that came from doing that motion. “This bench may be iron but I assure you it is quite comfortable. There is no better place to collect your thoughts before heading down below, plus I enjoy the company! ...Not that you seem the talkative sort”</p><p>The bug stood there for a while and then moved over, their height meant that they had to do a short hop to sit down, settling on a rather rigid position, head facing straight ahead and unmoving. Examining the nail on their back from up-close, it was clear that it was in really bad shape and looked like it’d slay enemies by blunt force alone rather than slashing as its edge looked as dull as it can be. Even though Elderbug had never fought himself he could recognize a dull blade when he saw one, plus, from talking to Sly he picked up on quite a few things over time. It was rather funny how he’d try to hide his mastery over the nail and still be unable to avoid slipping tons of passive-aggressive statements about the wanderers who came in as soon as they were out of earshot. “That one looks like he’ll sooner slash themselves in half with that nail than slay a single crawlid”, he’d comment.</p><p>Elderbug couldn’t help but feel a certain warmth, it had been a while since he shared a bench with someone, it honestly surprised him that this wanderer took his invite and, for as short-lived as it would be, he still appreciated having something other than himself and his thoughts for company.</p><p>Lost in thought, his gaze was directed to the bug again, their body was far darker than anything he’d ever seen, its edges flickered in and out like it struggled to keep shape, though that was probably Elderbug’s mind playing tricks on him. It almost looked like if he reached out, his hand would simply be engulfed by a hole rather than touch anything, even determining how far away they were without using their head as reference was near impossible.</p><p>He thought about striking a conversation, or perhaps just tell a story to himself and have them listen, but before he could do that he saw the bug’s rigid stance shortly relax, starting to swing their legs back and forth and looking around, taking in the sights, before suddenly snapping back to a straight stance for a quick while before hopping off the bench and hastily moving towards the well, almost like they were trying to get away. They threw a glance at the sign hanging at the door of Iselda’s shop then hopped to the unforgiving maw of the caverns below.</p><p>“Good luck in your travels...?” Elderbug wished as he would to all other bugs that crossed this point, still a bit confused over what had transpired. This bug sure was a strange one, but if they were as resilient as that fall proved them to be, he’d probably be seeing them again.</p><p>He wondered if he had done something wrong, he did remember showering yesterday so it couldn’t be that…? Nevertheless, he found himself alone again. These small moments of social interaction were the most exciting Elderbug’s days tended to get.</p><p>“Ah! I remember!” He exclaimed to no one, not realizing he said it aloud. He finally figured out what was so familiar about that bug. It was the same strange feeling he had felt one morning only one week prior...</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>He had just woken up and moved over to prepare breakfast, food was rather scarce lately and he depended largely on the supplies sold by Sly, he had recently descended on a scavenging trip so it was better to be economic with the food so that his pantries wouldn’t run out.</p><p>Elderbug set the table and sat down to eat, and as he took the first sip of his morning tea, suddenly a loud screech echoed into his house. His immediate instinct was to assume it was a particularly strong gust of wind coming from the Howling Cliffs, but no… It was certainly something different. He left his house, tea still in hand, and began walking towards the well, as he did, a chilling sensation ran through him, remembering that Sly was still in there making him tremble, on the way, he found Bretta, who approached him in a hurry.</p><p>“Elderbug!” She called out, exasperated “Did you hear that too? I-It seemed to come from the well!” she couldn’t decide between facing Elderbug to talk to him or at the well, expecting a monster to jump out of it at any moment.</p><p>“Y-yes…” He couldn’t think of what else to say, that screech he heard was far different and far more powerful than any bug could muster.</p><p>“What do we do now? Sly is still in there! What if that was a monster?” </p><p>“I-If that’s so…” Elderbug’s voice trembled and he hesitated before looking down and continuing with a heavy sigh “I’m afraid not much can be done”</p><p>Bretta was overcome with desolation and her posture deflated, her eyes looked so sad and she hugged herself, sobbing lightly, Elderbug had no idea what to do in that situation, she wasn’t that young but a girl her age should never have to deal with this level of grief, so he reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, quickly the two collapsed into a hug, he had to kneel in order to reach her height and his knees were begging for mercy but it was the least he could do. Only the two of them remained now, in between Bretta’s frantic sobs he felt tears streaming down his own eyes for the first time in months, he had held them down for so long but now that he had reached his breaking point they came out all at once, looking at the well through the blur of his tears, he thought for a moment he could hear it hissing, the air felt heavier than ever.</p><p>“We should go home,” he said, releasing his hug – Bretta lingering for a bit longer before doing the same – and picked up the mug he had set down. “I have some tea at home, would you like to have some? It’ll be good to calm down our nerves”.</p><p>Bretta wiped her tears off with her arms, noticing that Elderbug had done a fair bit of crying too, she nodded, still weeping a bit and both of them went to his house.</p><p> </p><p>The chill he felt meeting that strange bug was the same he had felt when staring at the well that day, why? Remembering that morning still made Elderbug feel awful, no doubt it was a tipping point for Bretta too.</p><p>Elderbug got snapped off his thoughts by the sound of rattling chains. Someone was climbing up the well.</p><p>He looked in anticipation, perhaps it was that bug again? To his surprise, it was actually Cornifer, carrying with him on a backpack a hefty supply of rolled-up paper, though it seemed like far less than what he had departed with. He hopped off the well, placing his arms on his hips victoriously and taking in the air from the surface, immediately choking himself on soot and lunging forwards in a coughing frenzy.</p><p>“Ack, I’d expect the air up here to be at least a bit cleaner.” Cornifer gasped, arm firmly on his chest and voice still rough with pain.</p><p>Elderbug couldn’t help but cackle. “I suppose you get used to it over time, though it isn’t like that all the time”, he said, remembering the earlier accident. “The dust got kicked up quite a bit today” </p><p>“Nevertheless, it’s good to be back, I can’t wait to tell Iselda of my adventures, it was reinvigorating and also very productive!” He boasted, proudly holding up one of his scrolls. Elderbug hadn’t stopped to realize yet, but perhaps a map shop might just prevent a great deal of travellers from getting lost with no way back.</p><p>“Oh, by the way!” Cornifer motioned his arm towards Elderbug, still holding the map scroll, “Would you like to have lunch with us? It’ll be a good way to get to know each other.” he looked around at the deserted town. “Seeing as you’re quite literally our only neighbor, it’s best that we have a friendly relationship from the getgo, no?”</p><p>“I’d quite enjoy that. Thank you!” He agreed happily, and both of them headed on to Iselda’s shop.</p><p> </p><p>Cornifer knocked on the door knowing that the shop wasn’t open yet as Iselda was still waiting on the first maps to come in. from inside, a muffled “I’m coming!” was heard, followed by the sound of someone stumbling through furniture in a hurry, then a key turning and soon enough the door swung open.</p><p>“You’re finally back!” Iselda hunched to fit through the doorframe and gave her husband a welcoming hug, in doing so noticing Elderbug’s presence. “Hi Elderbug! Good morning!”</p><p>“Good morning, Iselda!”</p><p>“I invited him to lunch with us today, do you think we have enough space?” Cornifer asked, already entering in and unpacking his backpack.</p><p>“Ah, of course! We should have plenty of space. Come in!” She gave Elderbug an enthusiastic hand sign before moving over to her pantry.</p><p>How strange was it that, somehow, their house looked even smaller on the inside, like the walls were way thicker than they should be, that or the fact the shop itself occupied half of all available space. Elderbug knew that the couple was just trying to be polite, still, he felt glad to escape his routine and tried to not occupy too much space.</p><p>Cornifer fetched two foldable chairs and placed them on the shop’s counter, which doubled as a dinner table while Iselda went to get the food, coming back with a stack of baldur jerky.</p><p>“Sorry if we don’t have anything fancier” Iselda justified herself, almost expecting Elderbug’s disappointment, “we haven’t got the time to properly settle in just yet so we’ve been feeding on the leftover food from our journey”. She coyly looked at Elderbug’s reaction. She thought to herself how Cornifer really thought inviting people in before they were able to properly cater to them was a good idea, the airhead. To her surprise, Elderbug was excited about the food.</p><p>“Ah, it’s been so long since I’ve eaten baldur! I’ll admit, I was tired of having crawlids every day.” He said, picking up a small portion of jerky chops by impulse due to how long he had been rationing his remaining food.</p><p>“You can have some more if you want! We packed way more than what we need on the way so we still have plenty” Cornifer chimed in, prompting a sigh by Iselda:</p><p>“If only I knew that we were going to stay here for so long, I thought we were only stopping by but Corny here was so drawn to this place...” she commented, picking up a stool to sit down. </p><p>“If only you could see it! It was all I could expect and more!” Through his thick glasses, it was still easy to see Cornifer’s eyes light up when he started speaking of Hallownest. “The ancient architecture is still a sight to behold, if it weren’t for the infected critters roaming about I could swear the kingdom wasn’t too far from its prime. Unfortunately, I had to stick to the crossroads as many passages were blocked off, but I still managed to chart quite a bit, I only stopped once I got to a wide room where a hulking armored bug holding a mace dropped off from the ceiling, I just barely made it out of there and even then I could still hear the beast howling like mad!-”</p><p>He was interrupted by a sudden muffled cave-in sound echoing from below, followed by a pained scream.</p><p>“Yeah! it sounded a bit like that!” Cornifer remarked, munching on jerky and relishing in the comedic timing.</p><p>Iselda’s eyes looked like they were about to pop off her eyesockets, both her hands clapped in front of her mouth  “Were you mad!? Either you’ll pick up a nail and learn how to defend yourself or you’ll <em> promise </em> me that you’ll stay far from dangerous areas.” She said, dragging the word “promise”.</p><p>“Well you should go with me someday, you just guard my back while I chart!” </p><p>“You overestimate my ability to keep your absent-minded butt off trouble.” She quipped, crossing her arms.</p><p>“It was a joke,” He chuckled. “still, I promise I’ll try to stay out of dangerous paths”.</p><p>“Thank you.” </p><p>“Shouldn’t we worry about those ghastly sounds we just heard?” Elderbug finally interjected after finishing ingesting a bite of jerky.</p><p>“I don’t think we have to, I have a strong suspicion that it was that little bug that finished them off, did you see them? Pretty small, Body dark as a shadow with an expressionless face, walked around with a broken nail? you know.” Cornifer listed before taking a bite off the jerky, gesturing the dimensions of the bug he mentioned, talking as much with his hands as he did with his mouth.</p><p><em> So he saw them too </em>, Elderbug thought to himself.</p><p>“What makes you think that? Doesn’t sound like they’d get too far by your description.” Iselda cast her doubts.</p><p>“Well, they had a strange air about them – Bought my map with no second thought, I just offered them one and they pulled out the geo without saying a word, then they took a look at it and ran off.” Cornifer described with a puzzled look on his face, emulating the confusion he felt at that moment.</p><p>“Oh, I saw that little bug too before it entered the well, so it seems they’re mute,” Elderbug recalled the fall that bug withstood without showing any sign of pain. “They sure an odd fellow but I have to admit they seemed very resilient”</p><p>“So it seems you both saw this bug,” Iselda commented, “Well let’s hope that sound we heard wasn’t that dingy nail of theirs being crushed under the weight of that creature”, she scoffed. It seemed like she shared a bit of Elderbug’s pessimism.</p><p>“So!” Iselda interrupted herself, “I wanted to ask since we’re now the only people living here, what exactly were you doing still in this village?”</p><p>Ow, directly to the point, “Well, just a week ago there were three of us, but now I’m the only one that remains, I guess I just don’t have anywhere else to go… I usually sit on that bench right outside and offer some words of wisdom to travelers that come in”</p><p>“Travelers like us.” Cornifer interrupted.</p><p>“Yes, exactly. That’s the one thing I got left to do on my life...” he stopped himself but the mood in the room had already gone down. “Ah, sorry if that was too much, I shouldn’t be burdening you with my problems.”</p><p>“Oh, no, it’s fine.” Cornifer reassured Elderbug, “How about we talk about something else then? Like what did you do when you were young?”. If his conscience’s screaming wasn’t enough, Iselda’s glare made it immediately clear that this wasn’t helping. “Ehh, I mean-”</p><p>“No, it’s ok!” Elderbug, in turn, reassured Cornifer before answering: “I used to be a cook back in the day. Back then the passage to Hallownest hadn’t been discovered yet.”</p><p>“Oh wow, that must make these jerkies extra disappointing, huh” Iselda sighed.</p><p>“Heheh, don’t worry about that.” Elderbug laughed. “Food has been low for a while ever since our shopkeep went down on a scavenging trip and didn’t come back so I’m really just happy to be eating something.”</p><p>“Oh, I hope he’s fine, though I imagine how hard it can be to hold on to hope after witnessing people enter that well so many times” Iselda commented, eyes leering towards Cornifer in a way that implied this was directed more towards him than at Elderbug himself.</p><p>“Well, as I told you,” Cornifer chimed in, “If you ever want to dust off your nail and come down with me I’d appreciate the help!”</p><p>Iselda crossed her arms and smiled contemptuously “Maybe one day”.</p><p>The three of them laughed and kept eating and sharing stories of their adventures, barely aware of the passage of time. In no time, the tables were covered in maps Cornifer had made and wanted to show off, and Iselda took the opportunity to show off her collection of hand-made pins and talked about other pins she planned to make. Soon enough, hours had passed and it was finally time to say goodbye. Cornifer, even in the half-asleep state of someone who skipped their afternoon nap, still felt tempted to chat some more.</p><p>Elderbug waved to his new friends and decided to go back home, he had gotten way more excitement out of today than he had hoped for, then again, he didn’t hope much anymore. Still, hearing his friends talk so enthusiastically about their jobs and hobbies filled him with newfound energy to face the future.</p><p>On the way home, he noticed that Sly’s shop was lit up, he blinked twice thinking that perhaps his tired eyes were playing tricks on him, but they soon widened as he realized they weren’t. He got filled with hope, which he immediately tried to shake off – better to not be too optimistic so as to not be disappointed, nevertheless, his walking became a jog, and his jog soon turned into a run, knee pain be damned, he practically kicked the door open and found Sly standing there behind the counter, arm halfway to drawing his nail and a shocked look on his face.</p><p>“You’re back!” Elderbug exclaimed, not even trying to contain his excitement. “I’ve heard so many strange sounds coming from the old kingdom, I thought for sure some beast had gotten the best of you!”</p><p>“Heyy, I’ve done scavenging trips longer than that!” Sly retracted his hand from his nail. “And besides, who do you take me for? It will take more than some ancient mindless bugs to take <em> me </em> down.” He said playfully, yet a tinge of confusion lingered in his expression.</p><p>“That is true, I’m willing to bet you have plenty of tales from your time below, I can’t wait to hear them all!”</p><p>“Actually…” Sly’s face turned to a puzzled frown, stumbling through his words, ”I- don’t remember anything from the time I was there…” He could see the questions forming in Elderbug’s head and began elaborating.</p><p>“I was walking setting up camp for my first night,” He recalled, “Then there’s a big blank in my memory, like if all that time simply didn’t exist in my mind anymore, I would only regain my senses this very morning, all the way at the bottom of the crossroads at the ruins of a village that once looked much like ours. Before me, a mighty adventurer stood. I won’t lie, I was a little intimidated, during this murky stretch of time I must have lost my items, including my own nail! So I was unarmed and had only the clothes on my back. And yet, the mere way they held onto their own battle-worn nail showed incredible strength and skill. Thankfully it wasn’t a fight they were after, rather, They stood silent, did not even ask for a reward (Thankfully). I thanked them for the help and they left without as much as a word.” He couldn’t help but switch to his story-telling voice midway through narrating the events.</p><p>Sly sure knew how to tell a story, but he wasn’t one to embellish the details. For a moment Elderbug regretted having missed the visage of this mighty warrior Sly spoke of. They had probably descended the well during his lunch with Cornifer and Iselda. And yet, missing the sight of this heroic figure felt like a small price to pay for having such a great time. And, although it was scary to think of what may have caused Sly’s memory loss, Elderbug was just happy that they were ok.</p><p>“Well, I imagine you have quite a bit of business to take care of now that you’re back.”</p><p>“No kidding! To think of the amount of geo I missed out on!” He lamented as his losses dawned on him. “Oh, what a tragedy!”</p><p>“I am glad that you are still your old self,” Elderbug chuckled, smiling softly while heading out, “I’ll leave you to it, then! It’s good to have you back.”</p><p>“Thanks for the visit! Buy something next time you come over!” Sly joked back as Elderbug made it to the door. </p><p>On the walk back home, the town, albeit in the same state of disrepair as with this morning, looked slightly less greyed out and gloomy. And Elderbug couldn’t help but feel that that strange little bug from early in the morning had something to do with it.</p><p>Nevertheless, on that night, the underground beast was calm, and Elderbug slept well and nightmare-free. Maybe dreams aren’t so bad, after all.</p><p><br/>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I sneaked in quite a few small headcanons on this one for the sake of practice with straying from canon. Tho I’m not quite sure if I want to keep going or if this will be a one-off, I think I have a lot of ideas for future chapters but they'll probably not focus solely on Elderbug's POV.</p><p>Nevertheless, if you made it this far thank you so much! Leaving a comment would make my day! ^u^</p></blockquote></div></div>
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